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Suggestions that Minister Dlamini Zuma lobbied African Union (AU) colleagues to maintain status quo on Zimbabwe are a complete fabrication
30 June 2008
Sharm EI Sheikh: Suggestions that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma had "lobbied AU colleagues to maintain the status quo" after a caucus meeting on Friday which would include recognition of Mugabe as President, as reported in a Sunday newspaper, are a complete fabrication and a distortion of the truth.
The African Union requested an input from Southern African Development Community (SADC) to guide its overall approach regarding the current impasse in Zimbabwe. It is in this context that a SADC Ministerial caucus was thus convened to consider an appropriate response to guide the AU on this matter.
In this regard, Minister Dlamini Zuma did not lobby anyone as implied in the article, but was formally requested by her colleague to brief them on the attitude of the SADC facilitator, President Thabo Mbeki, to the current situation in Zimbabwe.
Critical to note is that Minister Dlamini Zuma was requested to speak in her two capacities, namely, as the Deputy Dean of the SADC Foreign Minister and secondly in South Africa’s capacity as SADC facilitator in Zimbabwe.
Minister Dlamini Zuma noted that despite the Presidential run-off elections, Zimbabwe remains a deeply divided and polarised society, with neither of the parties, the Zanu-PF or the MDC able individually to extricate Zimbabwe from the current impasse.
Accordingly, both Zanu-PF and the MDC must work together and unite the country and its people behind efforts to find a common solution to their national problems. In this regard Zanu-PF and the MDC must enter into negotiations which will lead to the formation of a transitional government that can extricate Zimbabwe from its current political challenges.
It is thus a complete fabrication therefore to suggest that the Minister confirmed to the meeting caucus that "SADC was nearing a deal where we (Zimbabweans) will have a power-sharing arrangement because the results of the March 29 elections did not yield a winner." Minister Dlamini Zuma made no such references in her briefing to the SADC Foreign Ministers as suggested in the article.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
30 June 2008